Today I was out on Helvellyn and quite shocked by how much of the snow had disappeared during the overnight rain. Some aspects now have now snow at all, but there is still plenty out there, just takes a bit more searching for.

There was some keenness to climb a gully in Brown Cove, but they weren't looking too appealing (or safe)! We dug an inspection pit at the base of 'left parallel' and found an unstable layer about 15 inches down. The level of instability made us walk away from the gully.We did thankfully find a much safer alternative close by. A vague gully broken up by small rock outcrops all the way up, perfect and now back to a very low avalanche risk. The gully provided some interest, although the snow a bit too soft to be really fun.Higher up the final snowfield gave us the firmer snow we'd been hoping for and a nice steep exit, with a few cornices around too, we did manage to avoid these and suspect they too would be unstable.

Once on the plateau there was no need for crampons as the snow is mostly gone, only an icy ribbon where the path usually is remains. A quick visit the the summit and a bite to eat before a rapid walk back to Swirls to escape the by now very high winds, which were bitterly cold.

A good day out. A freeze tonight will bring better conditions tomorrow, fingers crossed.

This weekend saw a return of the snow and just in time for our 2 day winter skills course for Will & Helen.

About 5 years ago I took Will climbing around Langdale, he's now pushing grade 7a or in other words, climbing very well indeed.

But this weekend is all about winter in the mountains and how to prepare, cope, and deal with the conditions in the UK mountains when the snows arrive.

On Saturday we spent a lot of time near the ski centre on Raise. Here there was plenty of consolidated snow that was perfect for practicing Ice Axe arrest, self belay, steep ground skills, and crampon techniques. We finished off with a walk to the summit of Raise and some great views. The weather was pretty kind, no precipitation and a wind speed of about 25mph.

Sunday was a completely different story!!The weather forecast was quite horrid, with storm force winds and whiteout forecast along with heavy precipitation. We aimed to stay around the Red tarn area of Helvellyn and that's exactly what we did. Walking up towards the tarn we were being buffeted around and spindrift would cut into our faces even though our hoods were securely up, this was going to be interesting.

A solitary climber walked passed us, he was hoping to climb a gully on the Helvellyn headwall! Seemed optimistic to say the least. Later he passed us again, on his way out, having left the gully for another day.More climbers passed us, again they were retreating from the storm and deep snow.

We found a safe place tucked under the headwall and with plenty of rock above us to alleviate the avalanche risk. From this base we set about doing the most logical thing possible, constructing a snow shelter of course.Once built this provided virtually complete shelter from the howling gale that was now swirling around us.

After a brief rest for a bite to eat and warm drinks we back our retreat as by now the wind had become even stronger and at times it was an effort to stand upright.

So whilst we weren't able to stick to a schedule today, the lessons learnt from being out in the wilds of winter are invaluable and every bit as important as other winter based skills. Stay flexible in your planning, adjust if necessary, retreat before things get out of hand.

All in all a really fab weekend, thanks so much to Will & Helen for your good company and seemingly boundless enthusiasm.

Despite the chilly temperatures this week, the Horsfield family made it out for a full day of adventures with us today.

The idea of 'alphabet' days out was the plan. I hadn't heard of these, but Claire soon explained. So based on this we Abseiled, Bouldered, and Climbed or ABC!Good start then.

The Langdale valley provided our starting point, the rock dry (well almost) and sheltered from the breeze we were able to rattle through an impressive number of routes, especially so for Benjamin (aged 8). Our tummies were telling us lunchtime had arrived so we dropped back down to the cars and drove the short distance to Tilberthwaite for a lunch stop by the river.During the afternoon we abseiled at the quarry just above the parking area, Benjamin also managed to fit in another climb, this time on Slate.

Just back from a glorious 2 days out in the fells around the Langdale valley running a Navigation course for Stephen & Claire from London.

Day one began with an introduction to the map, before we ventured onto the hills above Elterwater and navigated our way to Silver Howe, returning via Dow Bank. Using a combination of steadily introduced skills including:Orientating / setting the map;Taking a bearing using a compass;Sighting using landscape features;Pacing;Timing

Stephen & Claire navigated with increasing certainty and already by the end of the afternoon were able to identify many features found on an Ordnance Survey map.

Day two saw us move onto higher terrain where less obvious features would need to be located. Almost all of today was spent away from footpaths.Using strategies such as 'aiming off' and 'contouring' we were able to navigate to very small landscape features with accuracy and minimal effort. The contouring we did was particularly difficult and it could have easily become messy with the complex terrain (rocky bluffs, boulder fields, streams) encountered. I left Claire & Stephen in charge of where we were heading and they got it right straight away, all by simply following the lie of the land, fantastic.

As the views into Langdale promised to be rather impressive, we included a visit to Great Knott. From here Crinkle Crags were in full view and looking dramatic with snow still lingering in the gullies.

A bitterly cold wind was now blowing, so a hasty retreat using 'macro navigation' took us back to Wrynose Pass and home.

This week may well prove to be the finest week of weather we have all year in the Lake District, it has been truly outstanding with conditions that are rarely seen in the UK. Big blue skies, cloud inversions, snow covered peaks and green valleys - totally Alpine and utterly gorgeous.

On Friday I met up with Anna for winter climbing adventures on the Helvellyn range. Having now climbed all the gullies in Brown Cove Crags, I was keen to venture onto the rock / ice routes and decided to start with a fine looking rib known as 'Parallel gullies rib'. Grade is in the II / III region depending on actual line taken and conditions.Unfortunately for us, the conditions on this route were less than ideal, we should have headed into the gullies which looked fabulous. I battled with breaking ice, slushy snow, loose rock, and a mix of frozen & unfrozen turf. This made for quite a challenging afternoon!Whilst I managed to find anchors for belaying, there were virtually no runners, so every pitch felt like a solo, and on this terrain felt quite un-nerving. All in all though, an interesting experience and learning curve and good to get myself back in the game for lonely winter leads with no protection.Would I do it again? Absolutely, it's fantastic, I love it.

Saturday came and we put our sensible hats back on. Winter skills was on the cards and for this I was joined by Andzelika & Eugeniusz from Ulverston. We based the day in Brown Cove again as this provides a great venue for learning new winter skills. Weather was very good yet again with fantastic views across the valley, over to Skiddaw and as far as Scotland!We covered a wide range of skills including crampon techniques, ascending / descending steep terrain, ice axe arrest, and avalanche awareness. The sun setting as we walked back to the car provided a fittingly perfect end to a brilliant day out in the mountains. Good to see fellow instructors Joe Harrop & Paddy Cave out busy in the cove too.

Sunday brought another hard frost to Ambleside so good news for winter climbers, and that's what I was doing today with Adrian from Basingstoke.After seeing how busy Brown Cove Crags & Helvellyn were yesterday, I was keen to stay clear of those venues, so we took a punt on the Red Screes cove. From the Kirkstone Pass we could see that lots of the snow had been stripped, but the gullies were fighting to keep hold of the white stuff. We decided to give it a go and thankfully were rewarded with increasingly good snow higher up in the gullies.Starting off with Kilnshaw Chimney, which is only about 20 minutes walk from the car. This route can provide a couple of short tricky steps, and today they were almost there, although mostly the route was nice and straightforward. Topping out was mind-blowing, a sea of cloud rolling in from the Irish Sea was beginning to fill the valleys of The Lake District, with all the mountains in bright sunshine above. It would have been quite easy to have stayed in that spot for hours and just absorbed the beauty of our surroundings.However, we had another gully line in our sights, so back into the cove we go. Right at the back of the cove is a long, thin gully, maybe 200 metres in length. We made short work of this, particularly enjoying the final open snow slopes with that big blue sky above, brilliant.

Another gully line was discussed, but we decided instead to take a walking route back to Ambleside, thus enjoying the fabulous high level views for maximum time. Ambleside was engulfed in thick cloud, so by comparison was a bit horrid!

With good conditions predicted to continue in the Lakes, now is a great time to visit and enjoy the mountains. The temperature is set to rise so snow will be melting on south facing aspects, but the northerly gullies will likely maintain a good covering. High level walking is currently as good as it ever gets so why not make the most of it if you can.

Remember, many paths are icy and axe & crampons should be carried on all mountain routes as they may well be required for safe travel.

We were out in the Grisedale area yesterday afternoon and found a wide variety of snow conditions.

Walking in from Dunmail Raise (the Struggle was blocked due to ice) we needed crampons on after only about 15 minutes into the walk. Anyone walking without them is going to struggle plenty!

Small sections of Raise Beck are starting to freeze, but it will be a while before it's climbable (me & Kate climbed it around 3 years ago and I can highly recommend it as a fun way to Grisedale Tarn).

Our objective was Pinnacle Ridge over on St. Sunday Crag, but already this plan was seeming optimistic as time was pressing on all too quick after our late start. We did however continue towards the ridge, traversing the steep hillside below the crags, this was very hard going.After a breather and some food, it was decided to abort the plan and instead maybe climb a nearby gully that had caught our eye.Upon reaching the gully it looked most enticing, sadly it was waist deep powder snow, so a non-starter.

So a relaxing walk back to Dunmail finished us off for the day.

Flexibility on route & objective is particularly important during the winter months, whilst neither of us wanted to walk away from the climb, we both agreed it was the right choice.

Conditions on Tarn crag, Falcon crag, Cock cove, Ruthwaite cove areas looked good, but again there could well be a lot of powder around and cornices are starting to build up around the corrie rims.

Now back in the Lakes after an extended stay in Spain, today came as quite a shock to the system.

Winter has well and truly arrived in the Lake District and conditions are very good indeed.

This afternoon I had a walk into the Brown Cove Crags to have a look at conditions. There was no intention to climb anything, just have a stroll and see if there were many folk about.

There were plenty out enjoying the good weather and conditions. And I couldn't resist a quick blast up one of the gullies as a fun way of getting onto the Helvellyn plateau.

The snow near the bottom of the gully (Left Parallel in Brown Cove) was a little soft, but this soon firmed up and from about 50m upwards it was bomber neve almost all the way. This made for really enjoyable and easy progress.

The crags had offered plenty of shelter, but upon topping out a very icy blast tore into me and I could feel a 'head-freeze' going on, so quickly put on more layers. The wind only lasted a few minutes, and the summit area of Helvellyn was actually much calmer.

The plateau is scoured of snow, with just compacted sections remaining, elsewhere there's plenty ice. So crampons and axe are essential at the moment. In fact I found the need for crampons really early into the ascent due to so much - hard to avoid ice - on the paths.

The weather forecast looks promising for the rest of the week too.

Our winter skills courses have started and can be arranged for midweek or weekends.